Kansas City Police officer shoots fellow cop when intending to shoot an apprehended suspect named Malcolm Johnson. She then incorrectly thinks the gunshot came from the suspect shooting and proceeds to shoot him two times. KCPD tried to cover this up.
Disturbed by what they saw, a group of local pastors released new surveillance video Tuesday from a deadly police shooting earlier this year.
Now, the highway patrol is speaking out on its investigation into the shooting.
The shooting happened on March 25 inside a BP gas station at 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue.
Police said officers tried to take 31-year-old Malcolm Johnson into custody at the gas station. He had been accused in a domestic violence shooting that happened on March 15 on E. 43rd Street, police said. Malcolm JohnsonMalcolm Johnson
When officers went to take Johnson into custody, a scuffle broke out. Police said Johnson pulled out a gun and shot an officer, who returned fire — killing Johnson.
Court records show Johnson had a long criminal history before he allegedly shot at that officer in March.
Murder, assault and illegal gun possession charges followed Johnson for much of his adult life. In 2014, he was charged with second-degree murder, accused of killing of 22-year-old Monteario Hogan, and pleaded to a lesser charge.
“I do know that they knew who they were looking for. They had been surveilling him,” said Sgt. Bill Lowe with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“There was no question who he was when he went in the store. They knew there was a possibility he was armed. He’d already committed violent felonies before, so there was an extreme likelihood that he was armed. So as far as anything else that would be subjective on my part.”
New surveillance video from the gas station, which the local pastors released Tuesday, shows the moment the Kansas City officers approached Johnson and what followed. The actual shooting takes place out of the camera’s view. You can see the footage in the video player above.
The pastors say they were disturbed by what they saw in the video. For them, the surveillance video contradicted the initial report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, which is handling the investigation.
“When they entered the store, you could clearly see that they already had their minds made up, that this was going to be a somewhat violent confrontation,” said Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III with the group Getting to the Heart of the Matter.
“There’s a way to treat people. There’s a way to handle people whether they’re criminal or innocent,” Pastor Darron Edwards said. “The way they treated this man was an execution.”
Lowe said the highway patrol has not received the video the pastors released, but they have collected surveillance video, dash camera footage and more for the investigation.
The highway patrol said this is an ongoing investigation, and Lowe said their job isn’t to determine if the shooting was justified. They’re just required to lay out all the facts.
“I would not want it to be a speedy process if I were the victim of any crime,” Lowe said. “You want it to be thorough, done with compassion, and done with integrity, so we are being as transparent as we can possibly be.”
Pastors with Getting to the Heart of the Matter said they believe MSHP has the surveillance video they released Tuesday; but regardless, they’ll be handing it over to them to help with the investigation.
They also plan to give it to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office. That’s where the highway patrol will send its full investigation when it’s complete.